Drive-Through Rodeo Parade Museum

When the Tucson Rodeo Parade Committee realized they’d have to cancel the 2021 parade, they came up with a creative alternative to the usual crowded streets and packed grandstands – they’d turn the parade inside out!

Wagons and buggies would be pulled out of the Rodeo Parade Musuem and set up along a winding route through the rodeo grounds in South Tucson. For one day, you could drive through it, passing by the floats and entertainment that would normally be passing you by.

In lieu of charging admission, they’d accept donations for Casa de los Niños, a local organization that promotes children’s wellbeing by supporting families. You could drop off school supplies for them in a rodeo bucking chute set up in the Museum parking lot.

We tied a bandanna on Quijote and headed to the rodeo grounds to check it out.

When we arrived, cars were backed up from the entrance, up one side of the street, curled around the dead end, and down the other side. We inched forward, idling in front of a tortilla factory.

Once we were through the front gate, we caught a glimpse of 5 beautiful black draft horses taking a snack break. Apparently, these are Shire horses, a breed that’s supposed to be from Britain, but I suspect may have actually originated in Middle Earth.

Some of the horse-drawn wagons along our route were decorated by local businesses who were sponsoring the event.

Others had been used by early Tucson firefighters and police, and still others were used for ranching, mining, or making deliveries. We even passed a replica of a steam calliope and an old circus wagon with rodeo scenes painted on the side.

We continued on to see the Modelos y Charros de Arizona, a non-profit group dedicated to preserving their Mexican heritage.

The Modelos (models) were wearing super-sized versions of their trademark Mexican folklorico dresses. Since this would probably be the one year they wouldn’t need to be able to actually walk in their embellished hoop skirts, they could really go next level.

They were interspersed with Charros (distinctively-dressed riders of Mexican rodeo – or charrería) demonstrating trick roping.

Also showing off their roping skills were members of the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus, who swung lassos while recordings played from past choir performances.

High school folklorico dancers performed in front of closed ticket windows.

We drove through a section of wagons from movies and television.

A lot of classic westerns were filmed at Old Tucson Studios and on location in Southern Arizona. The Rodeo Parade Museum often provided antique vehicles for their shoots, like fringe-topped surreys (carriages) for the movie Oklahoma. Or the simple buckboard wagon that retired from working on a farm and went on to appear in the TV series High Chaparral and the film McLintock!

Farther down, the band Gertie and the T.O.Boyz played their signature Waila (old time dance music) tunes.

The final section was devoted to wagons made by F. Ronstadt Wagon Works, founded by Linda Ronstadt’s grandfather.

After that, we exited the west gate and went to get lunch. The band kept playing, the draft horses’ tails flicked away flies. But, like those antique wagons, we were history.

– More Tucson, Rodeo, and Parade Info –

La Fiesta de los Vaqueros 2022 will be held February 19-27 (with the parade on February 24).
2020 Parade: Pre-pandemic photos that include many of the same wagons and carriages we saw, except with people in/on them!
2021 Drive-through Parade
For more on charreada, “Mexico’s original rodeo,” check out this Q+A with painter Edgar Sotelo. (He also explains the difference between a charro and a vaquero.)
Wild Ride: The History and Lore of Rodeo by Joel H. Bernstein: Book they gave away copies of at the drive-through event and a great resource about rodeo history!
Why Tucson has a Rodeo Parade Museum: Basically Part 1 of this post.

While you’re in the South Tucson area…

Visit the Rodeo Parade Musuem at 4823 S. 6th Avenue, Tucson. It’s open Thursdays through Saturdays. Admission is $10/adults, $2/children.
Alejandro’s Tortilla Factory storefront is located at 5330 S. 12th Avenue, Tucson. You can buy freshly made tortillas and chips and/or order breakfast or lunch from La Cocina Lorena (menu).
You’ll be in the heart of the Best 23 Miles of Mexican Food (north of the border, of course). Nearby 12th Avenue is full of places to get Sonoran hot dogs, tacos, birria, and all kinds of deliciousness!
We picked up food at BK Carne Asada + Hot Dogs after the Rodeo Parade Drive-through. Both the carne asada and the Sonoran dog were excellent!
South Tucson is also known for its abundant murals and mosaics, so keep your eyes open!
Mission San Xavier del Bac is about 10 minutes away. Visiting is currently limited. However, it’s a really beautiful 18th-century Spanish Mission style building, and it’s worth checking out the architecture, even if it’s only from the outside.
The San Xavier Co-op Farm is a cooperative of Tohono O’odham landowners growing traditional crops. They sell honey, dried beans, mesquite flour, and other products in their farm store at 8100 Oidak Wog, Tucson. It’s closed Sundays and Mondays.

February 7, 2022March 1, 2022

Why Tucson Has a Rodeo Parade Museum

Rodeo Parade Museum.

The phrase made me pause the first time I heard it, as I tried to make sense of those words together as a unit. I wasn’t aware that rodeos had parades or that parades had museums – until I moved to Tucson.

Rodeo

Officially known as “La Fiesta de los Vaqueros,” Tucson’s Rodeo takes place for nine days in late February. It’s a big enough deal that schools take off the Thursday and Friday of Rodeo Week. There are roping and riding competitions, a large parade, kids’ events, barn dances, a rodeo clinic that’s also a fundraiser for local breast cancer patients, and something called “cowboy church.”

La Fiesta de los Vaqueros was first held in 1925, as a way to preserve Tucson’s cowboy-era culture, while also bringing in tourist dollars.

The idea came from winter visitor and Arizona Polo Associaton president Frederick Leighton Kramer. He met with local business owners, cattlemen, and probably some of his polo buddies to organize the inaugural Tucson Rodeo, which they held at a polo field near his house.

Parade

Before the competitions began, however, there was a 300-person parade down Congress Street. Among the participants were ranchers, U.S. Army bands from the Buffalo Soldier 10th Cavalry and 25th Infantry Regiments, Leighton Kramer’s polo players, and artist/cowboy/part-time Tucson resident Lone Wolf in the impressive regalia of his Blackfeet tribe.

Now considered the longest non-motorized parade in the U.S. (possibly the world), the 2.5-mile long procession of horses, carriages, bands, folk dancers, and decorated wagons continues to be a part of La Fiesta de los Vaqueros tradition. In past years, it has attracted around 200,000 spectators.

Museum

When the historic vehicles are not on parade, they reside in the Tucson Rodeo Parade Musuem on the west side of the current rodeo grounds in South Tucson. Specifically, they’re exhibited in a couple barns and a hangar that’s a holdover from the property’s previous days as an early municipal airport.

After the first Tucson Rodeo Parade, the museum started collecting horse-drawn vehicles and restoring them. In some cases, families donated carriages that they no longer used after switching to automobiles.

In 2021, many of these wagons and buggies were put on display outside of the museum for a special event (which is where most of these photos were taken), but that is a story for another day…

– More Tucson Rodeo Info –

Tucson Rodeo history
The Town of Marana and rodeo
As far as I can tell, “Rodeo Week” in Tucson refers to the 5-day workweek in the middle of the festival. The Rodeo also includes the weekend before and after that, making the whole thing 9 days.
La Fiesta de los Vaqueros is one of the top 25 professional rodeos in the U.S.
Professional rodeos are the ones where the competitors do rodeo full-time (like professional ball players). There are also regional amateur rodeo circuits for people who just want to compete on weekends.
I learned about Tucson schools observing “Rodeo Break” or “Rodeo Vacation” from a friend who grew up here. He always had those days off – and he never went to the rodeo.

October 1, 2021May 23, 2023

Museum Day Picks 2021

Smithsonian magazine has an annual tradition of celebrating Museum Day, and many museums across the U.S. join in by offering free admission that day.

Smithsonian visitor center — Visitor center for Smithsonian museums in D.C.

I had planned to tell you – before Museum Day – about a few participating museums I’ve visited in the past. But life is weird right now and I’ve pretty much lost all sense of time, so September 18 came and went before I realized I hadn’t posted this yet. I’m still going to tell you about those museums, though. There’s one in Indiana, one in Washington, and five in Arizona. While I posted a similar list ahead of Museum Day a couple years ago, a lot of those museums weren’t participating this year. So, on to the new list!

2 Museums I’ve Visited While Traveling

Lenape specialist Mike Pace demonstrates traditional crafts to young museum-goers. — Mike Pace, interpreter and specialist on Lenape life and culture. Photo via Conner Prairie.

Conner Prairie in Fishers, Indiana

This is a living history museum that I loved visiting as a kid! I remember candle-dipping demonstrations and sitting in on a lesson in an old-timey one-room schoolhouse. They’ve added a lot of things since the last time I was there (many years ago), like make-and-take craft activities, a balloon ride, and the Lenape Indian Camp, which explores what life was like for members of the Lenape (a.k.a. Delaware) tribe in 1816 Indiana.

Regular admission $20/adults, $15/youth (ages 2-12). $2 off when you purchase tickets online.
Closed Mondays.
Storytelling series: Thursday – Sunday evenings, September 16 – October 2. Hear about Indiana’s early history from expert storytellers, including former assistant chief of the Lenape tribe Mike Pace, who helped create the Lenape Indian Camp experience. Separate admission required for the event series: $10/adult, $6/youth.
Prairie Pursuits: various dates. Workshops on traditional skills for teens and adults. Upcoming class topics include blacksmithing, woodworking, cooking, and pottery.

Guitars at Museum of Pop Culture (EMP) in Seattle — Detail of “If VI Was IX: Roots and Branches” guitar sculpture, Museum of Pop Culture, Seattle.

Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in Seattle, Washington

The museum formerly known as the Experience Music Project (EMP) has an atrium devoted to constantly-playing music videos (“Sky Church”), a towering guitar sculpture (“If VI Was IX: Roots and Branches”), and galleries for Seattle legends like Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana, as well as exhibitions on sci-fi, video games, and fantasy genre archetypes. Housed within a striking building designed by Frank O. Gehry, MoPOP is located at Seattle Center, near the Space Needle.

Admission prices vary, depending on factors like when you’re going and how far in advance you purchase tickets.
Closed Wednesdays.

Duck pond in Papago Park — Papago Park, Phoenix

5 Arizona Museums

Arizona historical museum - desert cities exhibit — Arizona Heritage Center’s Desert Cities exhibit

Arizona Heritage Center at Papago Park in Tempe

An eclectic history of life in Arizona. On display are objects as varied as vintage vehicles, rock and mineral samples, maps, and re-creations of notable Arizonans’ homes and offices. There’s a new temporary exhibition (“Still Marching: From Suffrage to #MeToo”) on how Arizona women have worked to drive social change over the past century.

Regular admission $15/adults, $7/youth (ages 7-13).
Closed Sundays and Mondays.

The permanent collection is grouped into themed rooms, like…

The People: Not only will you learn about the diverse groups that populated the Old West, but you can also read testimonies of people who saw the Phoenix Lights in 1997 and either did or didn’t believe they were UFOs.
WWII: Takes you inside a military barracks, Japanese internment camp, and a POW camp. Dark corners that should not be forgotten.
Desert Cities: Probably the most nostalgia-inducing area for those of us who grew up in Arizona, It focuses on the cultural changes in the Phoenix metro area during its post-WWII boom and includes an exhibit on local children’s t.v. show Wallace and Lladmo and an iconic statue from Bob’s Big Boy restaurant chain.

Vintage military plane — Via CAF Airbase Arizona Museum.

CAF Airbase Arizona Flying Museum in East Mesa

30,000 square feet of exhibition space devoted to the history of combat aircraft, plus a working maintenance hangar and active aircraft ramp. Located at Falcon Field Airport in Mesa, this is my pick for enthusiasts of old military planes and memorabilia. In other words, if you’re my grandpa, this is the museum for you!

Regular admission $15/adults, $5/kids (ages 5-12).
Closed Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays.

Lehi AZ canal — Canal near the Mesa Historical Museum.

Mesa Historical Museum in Lehi (North Mesa)

The Mesa Historical Museum is housed in what was originally a school, built in 1913 in the very oldest part of the City of Mesa as we now know it. There is a replica of the one-room adobe schoolhouse that came before it, antique farm equipment and other artifacts from the area, and a couple rotating exhibits.

Regular admission $7/adults, $5/youth (ages 6-17).
Closed Sundays, Mondays, and major holidays.

Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) in Old Town Scottsdale

SMoCA is an art and event space with a permanent collection and exhibitions in the areas of contemporary art, architecture, and design. It’s part of Scottsdale Civic Center, along with Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, City Hall, Civic Center Library, and a bunch of restaurants and bars centered around a 21-acre park.

Closed Mondays, Tuesdays, and major holidays.
Regular admission is $10/adults, free for anyone 18 and younger.
Pay-What-You-Wish admission on Thursdays and the second Saturday of each month.
Timed-entry reservations are now required for all admissions – even free tickets.

Tempe History Museum Concert — Spooky Kool Band concert at Tempe History Museum.

Tempe History Museum at Rural and Southern in Tempe

Always free (not just on Museum Day)!
Worth checking out if you’re in the neighborhood or going to a concert or lecture there.
They are gradually re-starting performances, including some outside in the Museum courtyard.
Closed Sundays and Mondays.
See their collections online.

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June 2, 2021June 2, 2021

Hotel Trends as Travel Returns: Summer 2021

This summer travel season promises to be a bit wild, as restrictions are lifted and people rush to the places they’ve been longing to go. Although the availability of vaccines has made us collectively safer, the pandemic isn’t over.

With hotels preparing to meet this pent-up demand, what COVID precautions are they continuing to take? Which 2020 policies will become permanent? And what changes should you expect when you return to travel?

Trends Across Major Hotel Chains

Hotel responses to the onset of the pandemic were all over the place. However, as I researched these properties’ current policies, they actually had a lot in common.

Of course, specifics can vary from brand to brand or location to location, but this is an overview of what I’m seeing within the North American hospitality industry now.

Toilet paper in hotel lobby in Chicago — Hotel guest with lots of toilet paper, Chicago

1. Easy cancellation is cancelled!

The lenient booking policies of last year are as passé as hoarding toilet paper. Before reserving a room, check the fine print for fees and cancellation deadlines.

Hotel front desk in Florence Italy — Front desk in Florence, Italy

2. Check-in changes.

Hotels have been gradually implementing both high- and low-tech strategies to make checking in more streamlined and safe.

Depending on the property, this may include…

Limiting check-in to outdoor (night) windows.
Plexiglass dividers at the front desk.
An option to be notified via text or email when your room is ready.
Web check-in for less time in the lobby when you arrive.
Contactless check-in via the hotel’s app.

3. Points!

Hotel brands with loyalty points programs are allowing members to stay at their pre-pandemic membership level / status longer and have extended expiration dates for previously-earned points. If you’re still not going to be able to use your points, consider donating them to a charity – perhaps one that helps those affected by COVID-19.

Hotel indigo sink — Hotel Indigo, Anaheim

4. Purell imagination.

Germ-killing products are freely available in quantities we could only have dreamed of a year ago!

Odds are, you’ll have some combination of the following available at the place where you’re staying:

Hand sanitizer stations added to common areas.
Disinfecting wipes issued with your keycard or waiting in your room or available on request.
Your own personal, travel-sized bottle of hand sanitizer.

Coronado Hotel in Yuma — Coronado Motor Hotel in Yuma, Arizona

5. Knickknacks are no-nos.

“Minimalist” is now every property’s decor style.
Only essential furniture is allowed to remain. (I’m guessing the rest has been sent to work from home-?)
Common areas have been rearranged to make space for social distancing – and those additional hand sanitizer stations.
Extras like notepads and bed scarves have been removed from rooms to keep everything as sanitizable as possible.

Hotel breakfast — Fairfield Inn & Suites, Indianapolis

6. Breakfast buffet waffling.

Depending on the individual location, food service (including restaurants, room service, catered meetings, and free breakfast) may be modified or off the table altogether.
Some hotels have canned their breakfast buffets, opting to instead offer pre-plated or pre-packaged breakfast items.
A surprising number of unrelated brands call their pre-packaged breakfast offering “Grab & Go.” I don’t know why there doesn’t seem to be another name for it. I’m thinking Continental Carry Out. Or Buffet Take Away. Eat on Your Feet. Dish & Dash. Serve & Scram. Or just a straightforward Get It & Get Outta Here.

7. The housekeeping team is doing more – but you may see them less.

Training on new protocols.
More thorough room cleaning in between guests.
Little to no room cleaning during your stay. Housekeeping services may be by-request only. They may leave replacement linens and amenities outside your door.
The most frequented areas of the hotel are basically bathed in virus-killing chemicals. In some cases, this means hospital-grade disinfectant or technologies like overnight electrostatic fogging.
So, even if they’re not coming to make your bed every day, they’re working harder than ever. Tip generously!

8. Hotels are down with PPE.

Employees are provided – and required to wear – gloves, masks, and other personal protective equipment.
Face covering policies for guests defer to the “guidance of local authorities.” Since the CDC updated their mask recommendations, some U.S. properties have eased up on requirements for fully vaccinated guests.
Stay fully masked until you’re fully vaxxed!

Intercontinental revolving doors — InterContinental Hotel, San Francisco

How Hotels Are Continuing Their Pandemic Pivot

I reached out to all the hotel chains whose COVID responses I wrote about last year to find out what’s changed since then and what’s likely to continue.

Only two of them responded – neither of which provided details. Perhaps, it all still feels too uncertain and nebulous to say “THIS is what we’re doing.” Or maybe they’re just swamped since things are reopening.

Regardless, I did my own research. Below are any noteworthy updates or ways these brands differ from the pack’s policies.

Best Western Hotels & Resorts

Some of their brands: BW Premier Collection, Glō, Vīb.

A very nice Best Western PR person responded right away to my inquiry about the company’s COVID policies in 2021, saying she’d try to find answers for me. And then I never heard from her again.

Is it because it of the article where I questioned their policy of not entering guest rooms for 24 to 72 hours after check-out? And referred to the “potential guest grossness”* left for days before being cleaned? I was really just looking for a clarification.

[*By “guest grossness,” I’m thinking of messes people make that do not age well. What if someone leaves behind half-eaten takeout? Or dirty diapers? Or clogs the toilet? Or spills red wine? Or vomits on something? What if someone dies in their room? Does no one know until 1-3 days after the deceased was supposed to have left? I mean, in a way, they did depart. Would that be the ultimate late checkout?]

Best western vintage sign — Vintage sign at Casa de Coronado, Yuma, AZ

Checking In: Accessing the Mobile Concierge platform via Best Western’s site allows you to communicate with the hotel before you arrive, at check-in, and during your stay. There’s no app download required.

COVID-19 Outreach: You can donate points to Project C.U.R.E., which supports frontline workers fighting COVID-19.

Choice Hotels International

Some of their brands: Ascend, Comfort, EconoLodge, Quality Inn, Rodeway Inn, Sleep Inn.

Guest Rooms: If you’re staying awhile, you can expect housekeeping after every third night. Otherwise, you’ll need to specifically request it.

COVID-19 Outreach: Choice Hotels is currently matching rewards points donations to “Stay Home, Send Beds,” a program that provides beds to hospitals facing shortages.

G6 Hospitality

Brands: Motel 6, Studio 6.

Reservations + Cancellations: Although cancellation penalties are no longer waived, they do recommend you call Guest Reservations (800-899-9841) if you need to make a change in your reservation.

COVID-19 Outreach: They participated in the American Hospitality and Lodging Association’s (AHLA) Hospitality for Hope program. This helps the hotel industry connect with health workers struggling to find housing during COVID-19.

Lion statue at embassy suites D.C. — Embassy Suites, Washington D.C.

Hilton

Some of their brands: DoubleTree, Embassy Suites, Hampton, Homewood Suites, Waldorf Astoria.

Checking In/Out: Loyalty program members can use the Hilton Honors app for contactless check-in and -out with Digital Key at an increasing number of properties.

Guest Rooms:

After a room is thoroughly cleaned, the housekeeping inspector verifies the room meets the standards of Hilton’s new CleanStay program.
A CleanStay Room Seal is then stuck from the front of the door to the door jamb to show that a room has not been accessed since it was cleaned.

COVID-19 Outreach: The Hilton Effect Foundation has awarded over $1 million dollars to community response efforts to help those impacted by COVID-19.

Hotel indigo exterior and pool — Hotel Indigo, Anaheim

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)

Some of their brands: Candlewood Suites, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Hotel Indigo, InterContinental, Kimpton, Staybridge Suites.

IHG was the only other brand to reply to my inquiry.

Their statement: “We continue to evaluate updated guidance from health authorities and governments around the world and adjust our policies as appropriate and necessary.”

So. No new information there. But at least they wrote back.

Checking In/Out: Reduced contact via their app.

COVID-19 Outreach:

Partner to #FirstRespondersFirst, providing free accommodation across the U.S. for frontline COVID-19 workers and access to a dedicated VIP reservation service to match local needs with nearby hotels.
Supporting food banks through funding, donating excess food, and assisting with deliveries.

Superman art — Art by Jason Ratliff, Indianapolis

Marriott International

Some of their brands: AC Hotels, Aloft Hotels, Courtyard, Fairfield, Four Points, Renaissance Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton, Sheraton Hotels and Resort, W Hotels, Westin Hotels.

Checking In:

Web check-in available for less contact. You’ll get a notification when your room is ready but still need to stop by front desk to pick up keys and swipe your credit card.
Marriott Bonvoy members can use the Marriott Mobile App to check in, order room service and other amenities, and chat with associates. In many hotels, members can use the app to access their rooms (instead of a physical key)!

Common Areas: Using air purifying systems that are effective against viruses in the air and on surfaces.

Wyndham Hotels + Resorts

Some of their brands: Days Inn, Howard Johnson’s, La Quinta Inns & Suites, Ramada, Super 8, Travelodge.

Checking In: Mobile check-in/out available at select hotels through the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts app.

Guest Rooms: More thorough cleaning and disinfecting in guest rooms between stays — with a recommended 24–72 hour rest period between guests checking out and new guests checking in.

COVID-19 Outreach: Everyday Heroes Complimentary GOLD membership upgrade for Wyndham Rewards Members who are essential workers has been extended through June 30, 2021. If you’re not a member, you can sign up for free.

Are you ready for summer travel? What are your plans?

March 18, 2021March 18, 2021

Clover Color Story

Somewhere in the neighborhood of Kelly green, a bit lighter than emerald, you’ll find Clover. It’s the color of lots of leafy growing things and glass bottles, and it brings an eye-catching vibrancy anywhere you add it.

A few places and projects that look great in this green…

1. Jungle Garden at the Huntington Library in Southern California. / from our 2016 Pasadena trip

2. Tips for building an A-frame Cabin on UO Journal. / Photo: Carey Quinton Haider

3. Embroidered aerial views of the British countryside by Victoria Rose Richards. / via @chromato_mania / +See more modern embroidery projects.

4. Cauliflower tacos we enjoyed at The Coronado in Phoenix. (They’re delicious!) / from a date day in 2019

5. Assemble-it-Yourself wind chime kit from an artist who makes beachy glass bottle sculptures, jewelry, and wind chimes in the Florida panhandle. / via Lifting Up Spirits / +More wind chimes you can make.

6. Decorating with statement leaves by Justina Blakeney. / via The Jungalow

7. The Secret of Kells poster by Jessica Seamans. This is her interpretation of the film (which I haven’t seen yet), and I love its detail and rich shades of green! / via Mondo

8. Clever paper cacti printables! / via The Crafted Sparrow / +More cactus crafts.

9. La Bobia restaurant, Madrid. / from an extended layover on the way back from Italy

10. Tips for freezing jalapeño peppers. / via Pepper Geek

11. A rowboat (adorably) called the “Toad.” These are made in a village northwest of London by a family that has been making and selling small boats for over 40 years. / via Heyland Marine

12. DIY faux-leather pouches project and tutorial by Claire Brander. / via Fellow Fellow on the Internet Archive

13. Delightful handcut paper plants and flowers by Tania Lissova in Tyumen, Russia. She sells prints of her work on posters, cards, and stickers – as well as her original pieces – in her Etsy shop. / via Lissova Craft

14. Neat pattern with dimensional hexagon tiles from the Atomic Subway Tile series, crafted in the Midwestern U.S. / via Heritage Tile

15. The World After Us: Imaging techno-aesthetic futures is an art exhibition that looks at the way growing things might take over our discarded tech in the far future. It features plants and fungi sprouting from electronics like laptops, keyboards, and phones. / via Nathaniel Stern

Photo sources are included in their descriptions. All the photos I took were from before the pandemic.